Internal combustion engine



Aug. 10, 1937. A. E. WALDEN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed Aug. 27,1934 3 SheetsSheet l INVENTOR ALFREDEWALDEN ATTORNEYS ill: |l||1 IIIIII. ill Q Q Aug. 10, 1937. A; E. WALDEN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINEFiled Aug. 27, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I. I IIIIIIIIII FIG.3.

FIG.4.

INVENTOR ALFRED EWALDEN ATTO RN EY S Aug. 10, 1937. A. E. WALDENINTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 27, 1934 INVENTOR"ALFRED E.WALDEN ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 10, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE INTERNAL COIWBUSTION ENGINE Application August 27, 1934, SerialNo. 741,700

1 Claim.

This invention relates generally to internal combustion engines andrefers more particularly to improvements. in the cooling systemstherefor.

One of the principal objects of this invention is to improve engineperformance by providing a construction rendering it possible to notonly obtain more uniform cooling of the engine throughout the lengththereof, but to also more effectively cool the portions of the enginesubjected to the highest temperatures during operation.

The present invention contemplates, obtaining more uniform cooling ofthe engine throughout the length thereof by arranging the jackets forthe coolingmedium at the valve gallery side of g the engine in such amanner as to form, in effect, a distributing, header extending the fulllength of the engine and communicating at points spaced from each otherlongitudinally of the engine with the cylinder jackets through themedium of restricted ports. In accordance with this invention thecooling medium is admitted into the header from the source of supply and"2 5 the outlet openings, in the header are so restricted aswto providefor building up a pressure in the E header sufiicient to permit coolingmedium to flow throughout the entire length of the header before beingexhausted through the restricted outlet openings.

In addition to the foregoing; this invention contemplates moreefiiciently cooling the cylinders of the engine by locating therestricted discharge openings aforesaid in such a manner that thecooling medium exhausted from the header impinges against the thrustsides of the cylinders.

A still further feature of this invention resides in a construction ofthe type previously set forth wherein the jackets forming the headersurround the, intake and exhaust ports inv close proximity to, the,valve. seats so as to provide maximum cooling of the valves.

The foregoing as wellwas other objects will be made more apparent asthis. description proceeds especially when considered in connectionwith.

the accompanying drawings, wherein:

, Figure 1 is a sectional view'taken on the line on Figure 2;

Figure 2 isfla sectional view taken substantially onrthe line 2-2 onFigure. 1;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the l line 3-'-3. on Figure1;

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view'taken-onthe 55 line 4-4 on Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 2 showing a slightly modified formof construction;

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on the plane indicated by theplane 6-6 on Figure 5.

Considerable difliculty has been encountered in the past in efiicientlycooling internal combustion engines of the type having a plurality ofcylinders arranged in a line, due to the fact that the volume of thespace in a cylinder block of a multi-cylinder engine available for thecirculation of cooling medium is considerably greater than the capacityof the pump usually located in the circulating system with the dischargeside communicating directly with the above space. Inasmuch as the volumeof the space in the block for the cooling medium is large as compared tothe capacity of the pump, it necessarily follows that. the pressure ofthe cooling medium is correspondingly or appreciably reduced as the sameis discharged into the space in the block provided therefor. As a matterof fact it has been found that as soon as the cooling medium iscirculated around the cylinders and associated portions of the enginelocated immediately adjacent the discharge side of the pump, thepressure drops to such an extent that the cooling medium merely meandersthrough the remaining portion of the block so that the cylinders andassociated portions of the engine remote from the discharge side of thepump rely principally upon the thermosiphon action of the cooling mediumfor cooling.

The present invention contemplates improving the type of cooling systembriefly referred to above by effecting substantially uniform cooling ofthe various portions of the engine throughout the length of the latter,and also by insuring maximum cooling of the portions of the enginesubjected to the highest temperatures. In general this is accomplishedby arranging the jackets associated with the valve controlled ports ofthe engine in such a manner as to form, in eifect, a distributing headerextending the full length of the engine and communicating at pointsspaced from each other longitudinally of the engine with the jacketsassociated withthe cylinders of the engine. The pump for the coolingmedium is arranged with the discharge side thereof communicating withthe header, and the outlet openings aforesaid in the latter arerestricted so as to maintain a certain pressure in the header throughoutthe entire length thereof. The outlet openings, in addition to beingrestricted are located directly opposite the thrust sides of thecylinders sothat the cooling medium under pressure in the header will bedischarged laterally outwardly from the header against the thrust sidesof the cylinders.

Referring now more in detail to the above construction and with specialreference to the embodiment of the invention featured in Figures 1 to 4inclusive, it will be noted from these figures that I have selected asix-cylinder internal combustion engine for the purpose of illustratingmy invention. In accordance with conventional practice the engine isprovided with a cylinder block it having six cylinders ll cast in a linetherein and having a pair of intake and exhaust ports l2 and [3respectively, located opposite each cylinder in the usual manner. Thecylinder block I0 is also formed with suitable jackets or spaces l5around the cylinders for receiving a cooling medium, and in addition isformed with communicating jackets It at the valve gallery side of theengine in association with the intake and exhaust ports. In Figure 1 ofthe drawings thejackets lfi'a'r'e shown as surrounding the ports 'inclose proximity to the valve seats so as to effectively cool the latterand permit correspondingly reducing the operating temperatures of thevalves (not shown) controllin'g'these ports.

As shown particularly in Figure 2, partitions it are cast in the blockbetween adjacent intake and exhaust ports in such a manner as toseparate the space formed by the communicating jackets Hi from thejackets l5 associate'd'with the cylinders. The construction is such thatthe communicating jackets around the ports form with the partitions 88 adistributing header extending the full length of the engine at the valvegallery side thereof. In the present instance the cooling medium isdischarged into the header 2;) through an'opening 21 in the front Wallof the block by means of a centrifugal pump 22 suitably fixedlysecuredto the front of the engine and driven in the. usual manner by the crankshaft (not shown) of the engine.

It will be observed from the foregoing'description, particularly whenconsidered in connection with Figure 2, that'the volume of thedistributing header 20 formed by the jackets i6 is small as compared tothe total volume of the space in the cylinder block provided for thecirculation of cooling medium,;and1 due to this fact a relatively smallcapacityipump is sufficient to force cooling medium throughout theentire length of the header under pressure; In other words, the coolingmedium will fiow throughout the'length of the header around the intakeand exhaust ports at a relatively high velocity with the result thatthese ports and associated valve seats will be efficiently cooled.

It is, of course, desirable to circulate cooling medium through thewater jackets 15 by the same pump 22 and this is accomplished herein byforming restricted openings through certain of the partitions l 8. Inthe present instance the outlet openings 25 in the header are locateddirectly opposite the thrust sides of the'cylinders so that the coolingmedium discharged under pressure by the outlet openings will impingeagainst the aforesaid sides of the cylinders and have a scrubbing actionon the walls of the cylinders. The dimensions of the outlet openings 25are carefully predetermined with respect to the volume of thedistributing headerv 28 so that there will be no danger of all of thecooling medium flowing into the headerescaping into the cylinder jacketsl5 associated with adjacent the receiving end of the header.

the cylinders immediately In cases where the cross-sectional area of thedistributing header 23 is substantially consistent throughout the lengthof the latter, the outlet openings 25 may be of the same size, but inconstructions where the cross-sectional area of the header variesappreciably at different points throughout its length, it may bedesirable to proportion the outlet openings accordingly. In order toillustrate this latter construction I have selected an internalcombustion engine where the cross-sectional area of the header in theplane of section shown in Figure 3 is greater than the area at the planeof section shown in Figure 4. In other words, in the present illustratedembodiment of the invention the header 2!] is somewhat restricted at thepoint through which the section illustrated in Figure 4 is taken, andsince the cooling medium has supplied only the first two of the sixcylinders by the time it reaches this restricted portion of the header,it necessarily follows that substantially two-thirds 1 of the coolingmedium should be retained in the header and permitted to pass throughthe restricted portion thereof. This can easily be obtained with thepresent construction by so proportioning the first two outlet openingsin the header so that only approximately one-third of the cooling mediumpassing through the header will be permitted to escape out of theseopenings.

The cooling medium discharged into the jackets [5 from the header 2G iscirculated around the cylinders and is permitted to flow upwardly intothe cylinder head in the usual manner through the openings 26 formed inthe block. Attention may also be called to the fact at this time thatthe side wall of the block adjacent the valve gallery is provided withtapped openings 21 communicating with the jackets l6 directly oppositethe outlet openings 25 so as to permit inspection and cleaning of theseopenings. In the finished construction the tapped openings 21 are sealedby suitable threaded plugs 28. v

In Figure 5 of the drawings I have illustrated one satisfactory systemthat may be employed in association with an internal combustion enginehaving eight cylinders arranged in a line in the block. Thisconstruction differs from the one previously described in that thedischarge side of the pump 2| instead of communicating with thedistributing header 20' at the front end of the engine, communicateswith this header between the fourth and fifth cylinders in the block.This is accomplished in the present instance by forming a passagebetween the fourth and fifth cylinders in such a manner that one end ofthe passage communicates with the header 20 through the medium of theports 36, and the opposite end of the passage communicates with thedischarge side of the pump through the medium of a suitable conduit 31.The construction is such that the cooling medium discharged into theheader 2!? from the passage 35 flows in opposite directions towardthe'extreme ends of the engine in substantially the same mannerpreviously described in connection with the first embodiment of thisinvention. Likewise the portions l8 separating the jackets Hi from thecylinder jackets l5 are formed with restricted ports 25' opposite thethrust sides of these cylinders permitting the cooling .medium to bedischarged into the jackets I51 against these sides of the cylinders. y,

What I claim as my invention is:

In an internal combustion engine, a cylinder block having a plurality ofcylinders arranged in a line longitudinally of the block and havingjackets for a cooling medium associated with the cylinders, intake andexhaust ports formed in the block at the thrust side of the cylinders,jackets for a cooling medium surrounding the ports in communication witheach other and cooperating to form a distributing header having 10openings therethrough directly opposite the thrust sides of thecylinders, a fluid pressure pump having a discharge openingcommunicating with the header and having a capacity sulficient to buildup a pressure in said header, said pump discharge opening being largerthan the combined area of the openings in the header to the cylinders toinsure the distribution of a liberal quantity of cooling mediumundersubstantially equal pressure into all cylinders.

ALFRED E. WALDEN.

